Vanessa Oatley is a lefty-handed pitcher with the Rhode Island Thunder Gold team coached by Dave Lotti and a strong candidate to make the FloSoftball 2019 Hot 100 which will be launched this Sunday.

The freshman committed to Penn State in the fall of her eighth grade year and is poised for a break-out year playing for one of the top club programs on the East Coast.

Playing last summer and fall against some of the best teams in the nation, she says: “I am eager to get back on the field! I am looking forward to this summer season and I think that after having one summer season under my belt I can compete better with the top competition. I think my team should do very well at Demarini Invitational, Boulder Independence Day tournament, and the PGF Nationals.”

Here’s more on this future Big Ten hurler who's currently a ninth grader at Chariho High School in Rhode Island.…

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You’ve yet to play a high school game as a freshman, yet have already accomplished a lot in your softball career… what have been some your favorite experiences?

I don’t really think I know where to start! When I was 12 years old I started to get my name out by winning the biggest tournaments that were in the Northeast—Jennie Finch and Adirondack.

At both of them I pitched every single game and got MVP for both tournaments. Then the next year my team went back to both of those tournaments and the results were the same, we won both tournaments and I had pitched all of the games.

That year my team attended the USSSA Nationals in Orlando, Florida. As a team made up of mostly 13-year-olds, we placed second. I had pitched 45 innings in that whole tournament and received Pitcher of the Tournament.

As the year progressed, one of my goals was to make Rhode Island Thunder-Lotti. Then after hitting 60 miles an hour at the tryouts, I made Coach Lotti’s team.

What was your year like with the Thunder playing against elite players and teams?

My first year with Coach Lotti was a big learning curve for me and huge eye-opener as we faced many Top 20 teams. Coach Lotti taught me a lot about how to approach situations on the field and broadened my knowledge of the game, including working the counts and pitch locations.
In the summer, I felt like I held my own against some of the teams we faced. It was revealing to see how hard I had to work and what I had to improve on to achieve my goals on the field.

In the fall of 2015, I did much better facing the tougher, and better, competition. Some of the teams I pitched against were the So Cal Athletics, OC Batbusters, Explosion, and more top teams. I have been working extremely hard preparing myself for another difficult summer against the best teams in the country like those.

What pitches make up your repertoire?

At this moment my pitches are fastball, knuckle changeup, drop-curve changeup, curveball, and drop. I am currently working on a rise ball, which will take some time and hard work to develop into a nasty pitch. I am throwing 60-61 miles an hour and hope to gain more miles an hour for the summer as I continue my workouts in the gym and on the mound.

What’s your favorite pitch?

My favorite pitch is my curveball and I throw that to every batter I face. I throw my curveball inside and outside of the plate, which creates a backdoor curveball look that gets some batters out looking.

Also my changeup is also one of my pitches that most batters will see. I am very comfortable throwing this pitch at any count, even 3-2. I enjoy throwing my knuckle changeup both inside and outside to batters and it gets both vertical and horizontal movement.

Knowing that the knuckles on this pitch gives it away, I have been practicing a drop-curve changeup that is not noticeable by the batter until it is pitched. This pitch gets better accuracy and more movement everyday and should be ready for the summer season.

My drop ball has continually progressed and has gotten tighter spin which creates more vertical movement. This pitch will be a great combination with my curveball and changeup.

What do you want to improve in your personal athletic training?

Along with working hard on the mound, I have been training hard in the weight room, trying to increase my strength. I have been squatting 175 and leg pressing 460. I have developed quicker feet speed and continue to increase my explosion.

How is your freshman year going so far?

I am taking all honors classes, which are the highest I can take as a freshman. In these classes I hold all 90’s with mostly 94’s and above.

Also, two years in a row I was a member of the National Junior Honor Society. For my chapter of it, I attained a 94 average and completed many hours of community service.

Walk us through how you ended up liking Penn State?

My recruiting journey started with my pitching coach, Jen Haponwicz from USA Elite Training, in my seventh grade year. She ran many college showcases with a wide variety of colleges and divisions there. This was the first time I was ever seen by a college coach, as well as the first time I had thought I could play in college someday.

As the year progressed, there was a clinic for the Rhode Island Thunder players, which was coached by the Penn State coaches. After that clinic, the coaches began to track my progress and had me on their radar.

Then the following year, when I was an eighth grader, the Penn State coaches came for another clinic. After this clinic, the Penn State coaches asked me and a few other teammates for a visit to their campus. At the visit I was overwhelmed, the campus was better than I dreamed, the academics were exactly what I was looking for, and the coaches were just amazing.

Realizing that Penn State was a public Ivy League-caliber school really made Penn State seem even better of a school, for my education is a very important part of my college choice.

So the fall of 2014 was when everything heated up for you?

Yes, during this fall season, other colleges started to asked me to visit—for example Syracuse, Tennessee, and Oregon. Also I had some interest from other colleges to attend camps and clinics.

At the Sun Classic in Orlando, Florida in late October and early November, 2014, I pitched against the OC Batbusters and many other top level teams, against whom I did well… especially for just being in eighth grade.

After this tournament, Penn State made me a full scholarship offer; I don’t think I stopped smiling after that for about a week!

I decided that I wanted to go on another visit to Penn State, this time with my whole family.

During that visit, the rest of my family realized how wonderful Penn State is and that my next home would be there. So then, on the Penn State softball field, I verbally committed to them!